Dashing Through the Snow
by Star-Shaped-X
Summary: "May your light shine brightly this season." On the day before Christmas, a boy's letter ran late. With his friends needing help, will the gift make the date?


One fun fact before we start: it's not hard to figure out the origin of the word 'Christmas,' but do you know where the abbreviation 'Xmas' originated? The 'X' is ultimately derived from the first letter in the Greek word for 'Christ,' and you might find it to be a little familiar. It's 'χ.' :)

Anyway though, if you're looking for a deep and spiritual Christmas story, look MUCH further because this is NOT it! ^^; This is a lighthearted and mostly improv-ed fic I wrote on an impulse, and in a rush for that matter. It's not a work of art by any means. But if you're in the mood for some light, Christmas-themed reading, then I suppose you have come to the right place. :)

Oh, and warning: I depict travel though the Sea of the Skies here as _waaaaaay_ faster than I'm sure it works. Just bear with it. Or don't—there are many other wonderful fics on this site I'm sure you'd enjoy reading. :) Whatever floats your boat. Oh, and another warning: because of how much I was rushing I ended up basically skipping over most of Goofy's scene. D= Sorry Goofy. I mean, not that the whole thing isn't terribly rushed anyway. Try to bear with the awkward pacing. Again, or don't. Lots of people made awesome Christmas fics this year and you're certainly not limited to mine! : D

By the way, I guess this is set post-KH3, but it doesn't really use a whole lot of post-KH3 headcanon. In fact, don't think too hard about any of it. XD Like I said, very spur-of-the-moment.

* * *

><p>Sora rushed down the stairway, the resealed envelope clutched tight in his hand. He yanked the door open and slammed it behind him as he rushed out the door. Long strides carried him in a panic to the shore where he knew his boat would be waiting. He still had a chance if he hurried, but he had to avoid every distraction or else—<p>

"Sora!"

He skidded to a halt in the loose sand, turning to see Kairi's cheery smile waving him down as she jogged over. "I was just coming to see you," she said when she came to a stop. "Selphie had a small mishap in the kitchen, so the party's going to be a couple hours late. But she promises to make extra-delicious butter cookies to make up for it."

Sora chuckled nervously. "That's great . . . Um, let me know how they taste okay? I have to go."

"You aren't coming anymore?"

"I don't think I'll make it." He closed his eyes and scratched the back of his neck. "I ran into kind of an emergency."

Kairi's eyes widened. "Is everyone okay?"

"Here." Sora dug a crumpled note out of his pocket and handed it over to her. Kairi looked at it silently, but Sora had read the note so often this morning that he could recite it in his own head from memory:

_This is sweet, but you don't have to pretend like you believe in Santa again just for us. Don't worry though—we've already left you plenty of presents under the tree!_

"I tried to mail a letter out to Santa last week," Sora explained, "but Mom got to it first. She left me this note with the opened letter, but you know how messy my room is—I didn't find it until this morning!" He groaned. "It way too late to mail out now. But Donald's meeting me on the play island with the Gummi Ship, so if I hurry I can deliver it to him myself."

Kairi crossed her arms. "You're ditching the party for that? Wait—how did you expect the mail from our islands to reach another world?"

Sora deadpanned. "Um . . . However it normally works?"

Kairi huffed and furrowed her brow, but then brushed her annoyance aside and smiled up at him again. "You would pull something like this. Okay, have fun out there Sora."

He nodded. "Thanks Kairi. I will." He took off again, feet splashing in the shallow waxing of the waves as he rushed towards the dock.

"And if you stop by Riku, let him know I said hi!"

Sora waved back at her. "You bet!"

He reached his small boat and pushed off. Next stop, Christmas Town.

* * *

><p>"I appreciate the lift," Sora thanked as the light of other worlds flashed by them.<p>

Donald didn't seem to share the boys cheer. "That's alright," he grumbled, "I wanted to get away anyway."

"What's wrong, Donald?" A wry smile crept onto Sora's face. "You weren't bit by a humbug, were you?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" After a pause, Donald sighed and added, "Well, maybe a little. Me and Daisy got into an argument this morning."

"You did? What for?"

Donald mumbled something unintelligible for a bit, and just when Sora was about to ask him to repeat himself the duck raised his voice to explain. "She wanted to go caroling around Disney Town, but after the hectic holiday shopping we've been doing I was ready to sit down and relax with a cup of hot chocolate. I _told_ her she could go on her own, but . . ." He grimaced. "Maybe I didn't say it very nice."

"Oh." Sora glanced away. "I'm sorry."

"Aw Sora, it's not your fault."

"Maybe not, but . . ." The boy crossed his arms. "You could be having hot chocolate right now if it weren't for me."

"Fat chance," Donald grinned. "No one ever wins an argument with Daisy!" He began to laugh, and the merriment spread to Sora too, but it was short-lived before they were both looking down again. Donald let out a heavy sigh. "I don't even care about the hot chocolate anymore."

While Donald's eyes were on the imaginary road, Sora's lay on the envelope in his hands.

_To: Santa Claus  
>From: Sora<br>DO OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS!_

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Sora's sad frown turned to one of determination. First he shoved the letter in his pocket; then he shoved Donald out of the driver's seat.

"Waaaaak!" Donald shouted as Sora took hold of the steering wheel. "What are you doing?!"

Sora pulled them into a U-turn. "Taking you caroling!"

Donald leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he tapped his foot skeptically. "I thought you said you were in a hurry."

Sora chuckled. "It's just one detour. A quick couple of songs and we'll be right back on track. Now, which way is Disney Town?"

* * *

><p>If there was one thing Disney Town knew how to do, it was celebrate. Its citizens had decked every hall in their world. Festive lighting was strung on every building, and a wreath was hung from every street lamp. "Whoa . . ." Sora gaped. If it weren't for the lack of snow and elves, he'd swear he'd ended up directing them to Christmas Town after all.<p>

"If you like that, you should see how The King used to decorate," Donald grinned.

Sora tore his eyes away from the holly overhead. "Come on. Let's go find Daisy."

They ran down the cobbled road, eyes glancing every which way. The streets were crowded with people carrying wrapped presents and baked goods—not so much that Sora and Donald couldn't move about, but enough that they had trouble peaking around and spotting Donald's special girl. It took a while, but when a hyuk-ing sound caught their attention they finally spotted Daisy in a conversation with their friend Goofy, and quickly ran over.

"—Can use a bit of orange juice instead. Don't forget that Goofy, that's very important."

"Daisy!" Donald shouted. "Daisy, it's me!"

She looked over shortly before giving an audible, "Hmph!" and turned her head away again, bill in the air.

"Daisy, wait—"

"Don't you 'Daisy wait' me!" she snapped. "You know we go out caroling every year. It's one of my favorite events."

"_Every _event is your favorite event," Donald groaned._  
><em>

Daisy's hands balled into stiff fists at her sides. "Donald!"

"This morning it was shopping, and yesterday it was ice skating, and tomorrow it will be baking—"

"Whoops! Left my turkey in the oven," Goofy remembered, excusing himself like the argument was common place and no big deal. Sora on the other hand was growing more concerned (and embarrassed, since the tense tones were drawing attention from passerby) with each second.

"Oh, I forgot," Daisy huffed, "I'm talking to the guy whose only concern each year is how many presents he gets."

"And you're the one who thinks something _everyone_ does _every_ year is something special!"

"Oh, so time you spend with me isn't special, is that it?"

"Hold it!" Sora interjected. "This is getting out of hand. Donald just wanted to apologize."

Donald crossed his arms and turned away, irritably tapping his foot. "I'm not apologizing to anybody!" he declared.

Sora was pretty sure he saw Daisy's feathers begin to rise. "Well if that's the way you want to be then fine!" she shouted, storming off. "I'll just spend Christmas with Minnie!"

Donald didn't turn to see her go, but Sora could only gape as she disappeared back into the crowd. He tore his eyes away when she was gone to check on Donald, who didn't look as though he'd calmed down at all. "What was that?" Sora demanded.

"Aw stuff it," Donald huffed.

"Hey that was rude," Sora groused. "I was trying to help you out. I thought you wanted to spend Christmas with Daisy?"

Donald groaned and clutched his head. "Now you're yelling too. Isn't this supposed to be a time of peace or something?"

"Like you're being any help with that," Sora huffed. He was about to storm off as well (where to, he wasn't sure) but when he turned around he slammed into a penguin who was walking by, causing the unfortunate stranger to drop the small stack of papers he was holding.

Sora and Donald quickly helped the dazed penguin up. "Sorry about that," Sora said. "It was a complete accident."

"Are you okay?" Donald asked.

The penguin shook his head to clear it before giving a smile and a thumbs up. "I'm okay. I—Oh no!" he said as a gust of wind took off with the leaflets he'd lost grip of in the fall, sailing higher in the air than even Sora could jump.

Donald summoned his staff and let out a cry of, "Aero!" A small concentration of wind whipped up along the papers' path, reversing the flow and sending the pages back towards them. Sora, the tallest, grabbed ahold of they papers once they were close enough and handed them back to the owner.

"Thank you both!" he said, shaking each of their hands. "I'm terrible at remembering the lyrics so I definitely needed these."

"Lyrics?" Donald asked.

The penguin nodded. "Me and my friends were about to sing some carols in the town square. Perhaps you'd like to join us?"

"Huh? I don't think—"

"That sounds great!" Sora interjected. "Lead the way."

In a hushed tone, Donald argued, "Aren't you in a hurry to get somewhere?"

"Come on, you want to make Daisy happy, right?" Sora swung his hands behind his head as he followed the penguin. "This is the perfect coincidence. You should consider yourself lucky."

"If it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all," Donald grumbled, but Sora heard the slap of his footsteps coming after them nonetheless.

The square had a small outdoor stage, where the penguin's friends were already belting out a chorus of "Jingle Bells" as a few families stopped to listen. The planned caroling group wore matching outfits, and some onlookers exchanged intrigued glances when they noticed the misfit Sora and Donald climb onto the stage.

_". . . open sleigh, hey!"_ Sora belted out as he joined in. _"A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride."_

After some forceful prodding from Sora, Donald began to sing along too. _"And soon, Miss Fanny Bright was seated by my side."_ As their group continued the song, one child from the audience who had been excited by the latecomers taking the stage decided to follow them up and help with the song. She mumbled over the lesser-known words from the verses, but was the loudest of them all when the choruses came.

The rest of the audience began to follow suit. In a slow, unsteady stream, more and more people walked onto the stage, making the original group light up with bright smiles. Even some member of the crowd who stayed below were singing along too, and those who were too shy instead clapped in tune with the jovial beat.

_"He laughed as there I sprawling lie, but quickly drove away. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh! what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh."_

Sora suddenly remembered Daisy as he stared out at all the people loudly enjoying themselves. Surely she'd forgive Donald if she knew he played a hand in starting this, right? Grinning, Sora jumped off the stage (which was too crowded by now for the action to draw much attention; even Donald didn't notice) and ran down the street. The years he'd spent traversing the worlds had sharpened his skill at memorizing paths, so it wasn't long before he reached the spot they'd found Daisy and rushed after the path she'd taken.

She hadn't gone far as it turned out, but he almost missed her since she wasn't outside anymore. Flashing lights in a large store window caught his attention and there she was, paying for a purchase in the small shop. He waved at her from outside when she turned around, and she looked a little guarded at first (perhaps thinking he'd come as deliverer of a mean-spirited message from Donald, or maybe just embarrassed about earlier) but he kept the smile up and it wasn't long before she melted into one as well and joined him outside.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Sora," Daisy apologized. "I didn't mean for you to get caught up in our mess. I guess I'll just go caroling by myself if he wants to be alone this year."

"Actually, about that." Sora pointed behind him, towards the square. "You're gonna want to see this. Come on!"

He led the way back to the square and soon the large group's singing reached their ears. Since many were amateurs who sung the wrong lyrics or out of key, it wasn't until they rounded the block the square was on that they recognized the tune of a very not-silent "Silent Night."

_"Tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."_

Sora saw Daisy's eyes sparkle at the sight. They soon fell on Donald, who was still up front and swaying softly to the tune. She shot Sora a thankful smile before pushing her way through the crowd to reach him.

_"Love's pure light. Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace."_

Reaching the stage, Daisy planted a big smooch right on Donald's unsuspecting lips, his wide eyes soon softening with joy while some of the crowd clapped for them below. Sora swung his hands behind his head as he watched them embrace sweetly, perhaps a little bit jealous of the romantic bond himself.

Not that he'd ever let Donald know that. In fact, Sora decided to snapshot this image in his memory and use to tease his friend later.

But as the night-related lyrics reached his ears, something else snapped back into Sora's memory. It wasn't nighttime yet, but he was sure he didn't have long. Sora looked around for a clock, and spotted a tower in the distance, though it was a bit too far away for him to make out the time just yet. He started to run towards it, realizing with a sinking feeling that he had already spent way more time here than he meant to.

"Yaaahh-hoo-hoo-hooiii!" Sora heard the very familiar shout right before Goofy rounded the corner, a tall stack of cookware precariously swaying as he wobbled back and forth on a speeding skateboard. Before Sora even had time to analyze the situation he was attempting to dodge, rolling into what he thought would be out of the way, but thanks to the zig-zag path of the skateboard's wheels it was not.

Sora skidded to the ground first, followed by a very off-kilter Goofy, before a feast of turkey, stuffing sweet potatoes, roast chestnuts, and cranberry sauce rained ruined upon the ground. The thud of the skateboard nailing Goofy's head was drowned out in the clanging of metal dishes upon stone, until finally the only remaining noise was Sora and Goofy's groans and rushed apologies.

"Sorry about your food," Sora said, scooping some of the remains back into the containers. "And it looked you were ready to eat a great feast too."

As Goofy cleaned the ground along with Sora, his eyes drooped downward. "It wasn't _my_ dinner," he explained. "I promised to make some food for a family less fortunate." He sighed dejectedly. "Now . . ."

Sora's jaw dropped along with his stomach. "This is horrible."

Goofy's face turned to determination and he quickened his movements. "Well Christmas isn't over yet, no sir! I'll just have to cook it again!"

A rumbling in Sora's own stomach told him there might not be enough time for one person to remake all that food. "Okay, I'll help," he decided. "I'm partially at fault anyway."

"You will? That'd be swell, Sora! A-hyuck, glad you decided to stop into town." With everything picked up, Goofy led the way back to what Sora assumed must be his home away from Disney Castle. Sora was surprised to see Goofy drop the skateboard off in the driveway; he'd never pegged his friend for the skating type, and had just assumed he'd tripped onto a neighbor kids'. In fact, the board looked like it'd be too small for anyone over the age of ten.

Since Sora had spent next to zero hours in a kitchen in the past, he began by scrubbing off all the pans and utensils from the earlier cooking job while his friend got organized. "Hmm," Goofy pondered. "Won't have enough time to cook a whole 'nother turkey."

Sora jumped at the thought of time, looking to the clock on Goofy's wall to see that he was running out. Ignoring the anxious feeling coming from his pocket, Sora asked, "Do you have another one thawed out?"

Sora cut the tenderloins of the turkey into smaller pieces that would cook faster and Goofy whipped up a glaze, then while Goofy rushed to cut up vegetables and make another batch of stuffing from scratch, Sora handled the simpler recipes. When he finished with them, he washed the catering dishes. About that time Goofy pulled the turkey and chestnuts out of the oven and added some final seasonings to everything. Working together, they had the food redone and ready to go in a little over an hour.

Sora helped Goofy carry it all over, not wanting a repeat of the last mishap. It was a lot of food for one person to hold, after all. "You sure you don't want to stay and eat with us?" asked one of parents from the family.

"No," Sora declined. I'm kind of in a hurry. Thanks!"

The town square was still caroling away when Sora made it back, in an upbeat tune Sora didn't quite recognize, though something about the style sounded a bit familiar.

_"Hereby, let it be known."_

Sora found Donald dancing with Daisy just off to the side of the stage. "Donald!" he called over the voices.

Donald jumped when he saw him. "Sora?! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be halfway to Christmas Town by now."

Sora hadn't even thought about traveling alone. "Would that be okay?" he asked. He liked the idea, since it would mean he wouldn't have to worry about Daisy anymore.

"Of course," Donald said. "Hurry up and deliver your letter. No more distractions!"

Sora nodded. "Right!" He ran back towards the ship, the sound of music slowly fading from his ears.

_"Send it out from the streets to the highest, to the highest high."_

* * *

><p>The next leg of the trip was a bit lonely without Donald's company, but at least Sora could put the Gummi Ship into high throttle without any squacking in his ear about ruined engines. Besides, the engines wouldn't be made to go that high if they couldn't handle it, right?<p>

Out the left window, a twinkling caught Sora's eye. It was a cluster of light, but it didn't quite look like stars. He was about it ignore it when he noticed there was also a small wisp of darkness floating among the odd formation, sometimes passing over or behind the lights.

Sora patted the letter in his pocket firmly. It was probably nothing, and he didn't have time for more distractions.

But soon his gaze turned reluctantly to the left again, and the hand on the wheel soon followed. He'd never forgive himself if the dark mass turned out to be something dangerous and he'd just let it slide by.

He kept a thumb on the ship's trigger, expecting to shoot down a large Heartless roaming between worlds. As he neared closer though, the pieces of light began to take on a familiar shape. "They're Gummi blocks," Sora realized. A few of the irregular pieces floated by his windshield. "But why are all these pieces in one spot out here?"

Then it hit him. This must have been another ship not long ago, but something had blown in apart. And someone must have been driving it. Which meant the dark mass was . . .

Sora steered as close has he dared risk before jumping out of the ship. A vice clamped down on his chest, and the air was almost too thick to breathe. It felt a lot like the time he'd spend in the Underworld. The depletion in gravity made it hard to move, but not impossible. He made motions like as if he were swimming through the darkness, and though each stroke tugged at his heart it did allow him to scoot further in, and eventually his hand grasped around someone's arm.

He flipped around and summoned his Keyblade. "Light!" he shouted, the spell almost drowned out in the dark smog. Circles of light fanned out from around him, shooting up in pillars as they spiraled away and dissipated the surrounded darkness. Sora let out a relieved sigh, then gasped when he saw who he was holding onto.

It was Riku. He was unconscious, and badly injured it looked like, but definitely breathing. As Sora stared in shock, the dark ribbons he'd just cleared away began to wrap around his friend again, quickly covering and then spreading away from Riku's body, sending sharp sensations up Sora's arm when they hit his skin. He realized this was a dark shield Riku's heart had was instinctively crafting to protect him from the hazardous surroundings, but it was out of control without Riku's mind awake to guide it.

Sora grit his teeth and swam back to the Gummi Ship, dragging Riku behind him. In its circulating, artificial atmosphere they would both be safe. When they were both inside and the hull was closed, Riku's reflexive darkness began to disappear, and with a quick shout of, "Heal!" Sora had his more major wounds taken care of. It wasn't long before Riku began to moan as his body woke up and tried to form words. Sora let his Keyblade disappear with a shimmering noise and dropped to his knees next to him.

"Hey, Riku," he prodded. "You okay?"

"Mm . . . Mickey?"

"Not quite," Sora said, chuckling a bit as his friend slowly opened his eyes.

"Sora?" Riku sat up, one hand loosely clutching at his head. "What are—Where am I?"

"I found you drifting out there. It looked like your ship had been blown to smithereens." Sora's eyes widened as a sudden thought came to his mind. "Wait—What about The King? Was he with you?"

Thankfully, Riku shook his head and answered, "No, it was just me on board."

Sora's shoulders drooped a little with relief. "So what happened out there?"

The corner of Riku's lips twitched. "Nothing as intereesting as what you're imagining, I'm sure." When Sora cocked his head at him, Riku sighed and elaborated. "I'll never hear the end of this from you, but . . . I was returning from a routine check-up job and put the ship on autopilot so I could rest up a bit. A stray asteroid did the rest. There must be a bug in the system."

The thought of not driving the ship reminded Sora that he needed to be at the wheel. He stepped over and started it up again. "Wow. That is less interesting than I imagined."

Sora caught Riku shaking his head good-naturedly. "So, this is the 'awesome rocket' I'm not allowed in?"

"Sure is!"

"Mine's bigger."

"I'll turn around and take you back to yours then."

Laughter caught both of them for a for a few seconds before Riku asked, "Seriously though, three of you traveled in here?

"Six," Sora corrected him.

Riku looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding. Mine felt crowded when I was alone. Where are we going anyway?"

"I need to deliver—" Suddenly a wicked grin overtook Sora and he slowly turned his head to Riku.

"What's that look for?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Sora's grin only widened even further. "I'm going to Christmas Town."

"Oh no."

"You're going to meet Santa."

"Sora, look where you're driving."

"I have been waiting for this for so long!"

"You know, I really should be getting back to the castle . . ."

Finally Sora returned his gaze to the windshield. "Do you realize," he asked, "that you put me on the Naughty List for seven years?"

"You didn't have to believe me," Riku argued.

Sora ignored the statement and announced, "But I'm making up for it this year." He pulled out the envelope and passed it back to Riku. "See?"

Riku took a second to read the address on the front. "A letter. That's what brought you all the way out here? You're delivering a letter to Santa Claus?"

"Hey!" Sora let out an indigent huff. "It's a very important gift!"

Riku handed it back to him, with a look that was caught somewhere between a smile and a smirk. "Whatever you say, Sora."

Sora sighed as he returned the paper to his pocket. "I hope I make it in time. I'm not exactly sure what time Santa takes off."

". . . Tonight's Christmas Eve." It wasn't a question, but Riku sounded as though he'd just made the realization.

Sora gave a slow nod. "It's been, what? Half a year?"

"I suppose it has."

"How's working for The King?" Sora asked.

"It's great. I've been to a lot of new worlds. And I've had plenty of chances to brush up on my fighting too." Riku shot Sora a challenging grin. "If you thought the Sleeping Worlds were a trip, you should see what Yen Sid considers routine training."

Sora grinned. "That's amazing, Riku. I'm really happy for you." His head slowly lowered, and after a bit of hesitation, he added, "Kairi misses you, you know. The rest too."

Riku sighed. "Yeah . . ."

* * *

><p>Sora felt the familiar shiver of goosebumps on his arms when they made it to Christmas Town. He remembered with a chuckle that his first visit had begun with his friends slamming him face-first into the snow, and he wondered idly how Riku would react if he did the same to him.<p>

Speaking of Riku's reactions, Sora was not at all impressed with the lack of impressed look Riku bore. "How are you not looking around in awe and amazement right now?" he demanded as they trudged down the hill towards Santa's workshop. "There's snow drifts and pine trees and all sorts of lights, and look! That house is made out of candy canes and gingerbread! Doesn't it look exactly like you imagined it would?"

"Actually, yes it does," Riku said. "Which is probably why I'm not that surprised."

Sora sent him a smug grin. "You're just sore 'cause we're about to meet Santa Claus."

"Not if you don't hurry." Riku pointed at the horizon. "The sun's barely up anymore."

"Right. Let's go!" They sprinted down the hill as quick as the snow would allow them (the deeper parts made it hard not to trip on the downward slope) and kept running until they reached the factory. Noises of whirring machines and clamoring workers came from inside the closed doors, and all the hustling gave Sora hope that they'd made it in time. "The elves wouldn't be making toys right now if Santa was already out delivering, right?"

Riku shrugged. "Probably not. Unless they're getting a headstart on next year."

"I bet we have time," Sora decided, pushing the door open. Inside the workshop, the volume was so loud it was hard to hear. A least a hundred tiny elves were there, and though a few were putting final touches on toys, most were wrapping presents quicker than Sora had ever seen anyone wrap, which was especially impressive since a lot of the gifts were taller than they were. Off to the side, another group of elves loaded up toys into a large, red sack after they were ticked off of a supervising elf's clipboard. Santa was no where to be seen, however.

Deciding the supervisor would be the proper person to talk to, Sora walked over and asked, "Hey, do you know Santa is right now?" He had to talk loudly so his voice wasn't drowned out in the background noise.

The supervisor gave Sora a quick, confused stare before returning his eyes to his checklist. "He's in his house of course," he replied, "double-checking his lists. But I can sign if you're here to deliver something."

"Um, no, that's okay. It's kind of personal. Thanks though!" Sora waved goodbye to the supervisor, but when he turned around he found Riku was no longer next to him. "Where did he . . . ?" In all the noise Sora hadn't even heard him step away.

His height made him quick to spot among the elves though, and Sora soon saw him on the factory floor, talking happily with one of the toy makers. Sora smiled at the sight; it wasn't very often he got to witness Riku making new friends. He even saw her hand Riku a small item, though he was too far away to make out what it was.

Riku glanced over and caught Sora staring at him. "I found Santa!," Sora shouted. Even with his hands cupped over his mouth, Sora wasn't sure the words made it all the way to Riku's ears, but either way Riku seemed to guess what he meant. Sora watched him say exchange good-byes with the elf before meeting him again at the entrance. It was a bit of a relief to shut the door behind them and muffle the volume a bit.

"So, which way?" Riku asked.

Sora quickly identified the house Jack had once led him to and pointed. "It's that one. Come on!" They ran over and Sora peaked open the door. "Hello? Santa?"

"Hm? Who is it?" a deep voice called out from inside. Sora widened the door to reveal Santa sitting on a chair, an unfurled piece of worn parchment in his hands. "Oh, it's Sora. You'll have to make it fast, I'm afraid. It's almost time for me to take off."

"This won't take long," Sora promised, stepping inside.

"So, you're Santa Claus." This time Riku did actually look a bit amazed.

"Yes," Santa said. "And you are?"

"This is my friend Riku," Sora explained. "I thought he might like to meet you, in person."

"Ah, yes, Riku." Santa smiled at him. "I trust Sora delivered my message to you."

Riku nodded. "He did." Sora could hear the faintest echo of laughter in Riku's voice. "In fact, delivering a message is the real reason we're here today." He gestured at Sora, causing Santa to look at him expectantly.

Grinning, Sora pulled the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Santa Claus. "What's this?" Santa asked, and then frowned at the envelope. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way Sora, but we've already processed our wishlists for this year. You are indeed on the nice list, but there's not enough time to—"

"Just read it?" Sora begged. "Please?"

Santa sighed. "Alright." He opened the envelope and pulled out a single piece of neatly-folded paper, reading it quietly. "This is . . . a thank-you note?"

"Uh-huh," Sora said, grinning again.

Deep laughter filled the room. "Why, thank you, Sora!" Santa boomed. "It's a rare occasion that I get a thank-you card without a wishlist attached, and I've never had anyone hand deliver one to me." Still smiling, Santa stood. "But I really must be going now. If I don't load up that sleigh there won't be anything to thank me for."

"Alright. See you, Santa!"

"Goodbye," Riku added.

Sora was still beaming when they watched Santa leave, the letter clutched in his hand.

Riku chuckled. "So that's it?" he asked. "No surfboard? Pirate sword? Peace for all worlds? You're not asking for anything for Christmas?"

"Come home." It slipped out as a mumble, but Sora continued clearly and intentionally. "It doesn't have to be forever. Just one day. For Christmas."

Riku stared silently at him for a second, with that blank expression Sora had come to recognize as Riku attempting to process a compliment, before he looked away and smiled.

"That sounds wonderful."

* * *

><p>"I can't see a thing."<p>

"It's not that dark."

"Yeah, to _you_." Sora cursed under his breath as he stubbed his foot on another piece of furniture. It didn't hurt thanks to his thick shoes, but he was sure the banging would wake someone up, and he wanted to surprise them.

"I seriously doubt everyone decided to spend the night at Selphie's anyway," Riku pointed out.

"It's worth a shot," Sora said. "I told you the party was here."

"Quiet," Riku whispered, hushing him. Sora stopped moving and listened. There was a creaking noise, like the sound of someone sneaking down a set of stairs. He sent a grin back to Riku and stepped in the direction of the perceived staircase.

Only to be knocked back by a wooden plank driving into his face.

Sora heard Riku laughing in the background of his groans as he clutched the bridge of his nose. "Sora?" a voice called out. The house lights flickered on, revealing Tidus holding his wooden sword and Selphie behind him. "Hey, is that Riku?" Tidus exclaimed, pushing past Sora to get to him. "How are you, man? It's been ages!"

"Thanks!" Sora called back. "I'm fine! Just took a sword to the face, that's all."

Tidus laughed at him. "We thought you guys were burglars!"

"Yeah, why are you two sneaking around at four in the morning?" Selphie asked, though she sounded more amused by it than anything else.

"_Sora_ thought it would be a good idea to surprise you," Riku said, sending Sora an I-told-you-so look.

"Well it worked!" Sora countered. "They're surprised."

Selphie walked over to Riku. "It's great that you're here though. Visiting for Christmas?"

"Yeah," he said. "Sora told me you had a party going on?"

She pouted. "Aww, but it ended hours ago. Too bad. I'd have held it later if I knew you were on your way."

"Are Kairi and Wakka here too?" Sora asked, an excited grin forming on his face, but Selphie shook her head at him.

"Everyone's gone now," she said. "Tidus is just spending the night."

This was immediately followed by an exaggerated, "OHHHH," as Sora and Riku smirked at their friends.

"Not like that!" Tidus shouted, though the giggling from Selphie might have argued it. Then again, it was hard to tell with Selphie.

When the teasing was over, Selphie looked at Sora seriously. "You really should go find Kairi though. She missed you tonight." She turned to Riku and added, "And I'm sure she'll be excited to see you again too."

Riku nodded. "You ready, Sora? Or do you need to nurse your wound a bit first?"

"I've had way worse, even from Tidus," Sora laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Sora watched Kairi's eyes slowly peel open before they widened at the sight of him. "Sora?" she asked, voice still groggy as she reached over to turn on her lamp light. "What time is—Is that Riku?"<p>

"Your hair's a mess," Riku greeted.

"Gee, you sure know how to charm a lady," she scoffed, running a hand a couple times through her bedhead. "And you, Sora—I was starting to think you got lost."

"Nah, I know my way around up there," Sora said, pumping a fist to his chest to emphasis the boast. "Merry Christmas, Kairi."

She smiled, eyes glinting in the faint light from the room. "Yeah. You both too. I saved some cookies from the party if you want them. Downstairs in the pantry. Oh, and there's eggnog too."

"The good kind?" Riku asked, and Kairi nodded. "I'll go grab them."

"Grab lots," Sora called after him as he walked down the hall, "I haven't eaten anything all day."

Kairi looked at Sora and patted a spot on the bed. "You can sit down, you know."

Instead, Sora dove onto the bed, flopping on his belly with his arms stretched out above him. "No way," he groaned, making exaggerated stretching motions. "I already spent way too much time on my butt today." He flipped around so he could face her. "Besides, _not_ laying down would be a waste of all this bed space."

"Whatever you say, Sora." She yawned, staring out the dim window. "Seriously though, I didn't get home from the party until after midnight. I'm ready to go back to bed."

"Come on Kairi, you've gotta at least have Christmas dinner with us," Sora argued.

Kairi laughed. "Cookies are not dinner. In fact, no meal that happens right before sunrise is dinner."

"What happened to all the energy you had during the battle with Xehanort?"

"Maybe it went to live at Radiant Garden."

Before he could continue the argument, something green flew from across the room and landed on the bed between them. Two sets of eyes looked down to see it was a sprig of mistletoe. Sure enough, Riku was standing in the doorway, raising his eyebrows at them expectantly. Sora was sure he'd be crossing his arms if they weren't carrying the cookies and eggnog. "I'm just saying, it's about time, that's all," Riku told them.

Kairi laughed, and Sora grinned at the fondness of past memories. "You never give up, do you?" he asked. Riku just shrugged. "Whatever. The only thing I'm putting my mouth on is those cookies."

"I didn't know you felt that way about food," Riku said, sitting on the corner of Kairi's bed and setting the plate between them.

"Yeah," Kairi agreed. "Note to Sora's future girlfriend: dress like a butter cookie."

Sora laughed. "You're both just jealous because you know I'll eat more of them than you will."

"So," Kairi looked at Riku, "do you always carry mistletoe around in your back pocket, or just on Christmas?"

Riku shrugged. "It was a gift."

The morning continued on long passed the rising of the sun and the emptying of the plate and carton, until at high noon the three friends finally fell asleep together, bathed in the warmth from the sun and the light from their hearts.

* * *

><p>This was going to be around two thousand words when I started. o_o What happened? Well, if you made it this far, hopefully you got some enjoyment out of this awkward piece. =P I had fun writing it, at least. This is by far the most I've ever written in such a sort time frame. I mean, unless you count outlines. I <em>love<em> outlines.

My apologies again to Goofy. And Wakka for that matter. Maybe I'll make it up to them next year.

By the way, bonus points for anyone who got the Easter eggs (er, Christmas eggs?) I planted. There are a few different sources.

Joy to the worlds!

- Star-Shaped-χ


End file.
